Lance Collins, who has led Virginia Tech’s Innovation Campus in Alexandria since 2020, has been promoted to vice president of the greater Washington, D.C., area, the university announced Wednesday.
In his expanded role, Collins will oversee Virginia Tech’s growing regional presence beyond just the Alexandria campus, taking responsibility for administration, operations, and strategic direction of all university activities in the D.C. area.
“Lance will play a critical role in advancing our visibility, partnerships, and impact in one of our most strategically significant regions,” Virginia Tech President Tim Sands said in the announcement.
Collins has overseen significant growth at the Alexandria campus since his appointment as vice president and executive director in 2020. The campus launched with the opening of Academic Building One earlier this year and now has 19 faculty members. The Master of Engineering programs have graduated more than 1,000 students since 2020, with plans to reach 50 faculty and 600 students annually at full capacity.
Under Collins’ leadership, the campus also recently formed the Institute for Advanced Computing, which will support new industry and government partnerships for research and learning opportunities.
Before joining Virginia Tech, Collins served as dean of engineering at Cornell University from 2010 to 20 and was part of the team that successfully bid to partner with New York City to build Cornell Tech on Roosevelt Island.
Collins is a fellow of the American Physical Society, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering in 2021.
